“Why do I have to wear this?!”
Yulikian shouted, throwing aside the long, flowing wig and dress.
For Grand Duke Yulikian Kun Rondenes, who had lived as a nobleman all his life despite his misfortune, cross-dressing was unthinkable.
Maddie looked him over with an indifferent face.
She answered while haphazardly putting on a maid’s uniform over her thin shirt and pants.
“Oh, then don’t wear it and just say ‘Arrest me!’ on the way!”
“Do we really need to disguise ourselves like this?”
“How many times do I have to tell you? It’s not a place anyone can enter. First of all, it’s a problem for Your Grace to leave the capital. What are you going to do about that flashy silver hair?”
“…Hah.”
The Duke let out an irritated sigh and put on the wig.
After putting on the dress with lots of fluttering lace, he looked truly ridiculous.
Maddie immediately approached and pulled out a comb from the pants she was wearing under the maid’s uniform.
“Are you some kind of general store? All sorts of things come out of you.”
“If you’re curious, try undressing me.”
“You…! Ah, forget it, forget it.”
Yulikian frowned deeply at the nonsensical remark, then waved his hand dismissively.
Maddie’s mouth sometimes ran wild like that.
‘…Did I marry her for nothing?’
Unaware of Yulikian’s thoughts, Maddie quickly combed the long wig and braided the hair thinly, tying it in half.
“Wow. You really look like a young lady from a noble family.”
Encouraged by her words, Yulikian looked in the mirror and shouted in shock.
“Are you crazy? Anyone can see I’m a grown man in drag!”
“Don’t be deceived by outward appearances, look with your heart. Can’t you see that beautiful young lady in the mirror?”
Yulikian clutched his forehead and staggered.
“You crazy…”
“Shh.”
The sound of someone passing in the corridor outside the room was heard. Maddie quickly turned off the lights in the room.
After the footsteps faded away, Maddie swiftly moved to pick up a dark shawl from the luggage scattered on the floor.
Even though it was a cheap inn and not much moonlight came through the window, Maddie moved without hesitation, as if accustomed to the darkness.
Covering Yulikian’s broad shoulders with the shawl, Maddie tied a scarf around his neck, hiding his Adam’s apple.
Maddie looked straight into Yulikian’s blue eyes and said.
“Your precious niece’s life is at stake for you, and my blood-like 1 billion is at stake for me. So stop whining and follow me right now. We have a long way to go.”
“…Can you really find her?”
Maddie answered with a grin.
“Honey. I’m Maddie.”
Somehow, it felt reassuring.
At that moment, a faint vibration of horse hooves striking the ground was felt from far outside the window.
Yulikian, unable to hear that sound, just looked at Maddie with his large eyes slightly furrowed.
Maddie put her index finger to her lips and carefully packed her bag.
They quickly slipped out through the back door of the inn.
Not long after, uninvited guests barged into the inn.
“Have you seen a silver-haired man in his mid-20s and a woman with brown hair and green eyes?”
With a sharp blade just below his neck, the innkeeper answered, trembling.
“I, I don’t know! I really haven’t seen them!”
“Haven’t any unusual or unfamiliar guests visited?”
“Of course, inns always have unfamiliar guests. …Ah. Come to think of it, there might have been a noble young lady who looked like she had run away.”
“A young lady? Did she have brown hair?”
“No? When I saw her leaving, she was blonde.”
The pursuers said they had heard useless information and suggested searching other routes, but their leader ‘Lambda’ thought differently.
“They’re in disguise.”
Unable to contain his anger, Lambda beheaded the horse he had ridden as soon as he left the inn. The large horse collapsed to the side without even a struggle.
“Damn it, damn it!”
As Lambda clenched his fist, a creaking sound came from his leather gloves.
A cold smile instantly appeared on Lambda’s face as he swept back his sweat-soaked hair, his face red with excitement.
“…Maddie, just wait a little longer.”
Lambda beheaded a subordinate who had just arrived late and stole his horse.
“We’re going to the train station! Follow me!”
Despite his violent actions and self-righteousness, his subordinates didn’t dare to rebel.
The sound of the pursuit team’s horses’ hooves once again shook the ground.
At that time, Maddie and Yulikian had already shaken off the pursuit team, changed carriages twice, and boarded a train.
This time, Maddie, transformed into a neat gentleman, tied her brown hair into a ponytail and crossed her legs. As if that wasn’t enough, she leisurely unfolded a newspaper to read.
Yulikian was still in a blonde wig and a fancy dress.
He tried to hunch over to hide his natural bulk, but it was hard to ignore the stares of people around him in the third-class carriage.
Yulikian leaned close to Maddie, gritting his teeth, and asked in a ventriloquist-like manner so that his low voice wouldn’t be heard.
“…Why do I have to stay like this while you get to dress as a man?”
“Our dear husband stands out with that hair color.”
“That damned ‘dear husband’…!”
Yulikian almost raised his voice without realizing it and quickly lowered his head.
Maddie silently unfolded the front page of the newspaper and showed it to Yulikian.
The wedding of Grand Duke Rondenes, who overcame the difference in status. Grand Duke Yulikian Kun Rondenes had revealed a romantic relationship with a woman from the slums a few months ago.
…(omitted) Despite opposition from those around him, Grand Duke Rondenes eventually held a lavish outdoor wedding with the woman from the slums.
‘Maddie,’ who became the Duchess yesterday, made headlines by wearing a blood-red dress at the wedding.
(Attached photo)
Maddie slightly adjusted the black horn-rimmed glasses she had borrowed from an old gentleman dozing in front of her and said.
“I look good in the photo.”
In the newspaper photo, Yulikian was holding Maddie, who was wearing a red dress, and smiling brightly as if proud of his lover.
The sound of passengers in the third-class carriage talking while looking at the newspaper was heard.
“Did Duke Rondenes really marry that commoner woman?”
“Calling her a commoner is too generous. She was from the slums, wasn’t she?”
“She’s quite pretty, though.”
“He must have fallen for that face.”
“A friend of mine in the Rondenes territory said they can’t live without each other. But they say the woman is a bit crazy.”
“What do you mean? Crazy?”
“Just a bit, here. But they say she has a good heart.”
The male passenger twirled his index finger near his temple.
“So you’re saying His Grace married a crazy woman?”
“But they say His Grace changed after meeting her. Together, a bit…”
The person who had been twirling his index finger near his temple now shook his head as well.
“…Well, anyway, since they’re married, I hope they live well.”
“You can go crazy for love. They’re young, after all.”
The passengers turned the newspaper to the back page and started talking about something else.
Yulikian lowered his head even more and hid his face with the yellow wig.
He was afraid people would recognize him.
“…How far do we have to go?”
“We’re getting off now.”
Maddie stood up and strode towards the back of the train.
She casually took a beret from the luggage rack above her head and put it on, then took off her glasses and placed them on someone’s luggage.
It was something that happened naturally while moving to the next carriage.
While Yulikian was still surprised by her deft movements, Maddie calmly said.
“You’ll be able to take off the dress soon.”
“Really?”
It was welcome news.
“Yes. We’re getting off now.”
“…But we’re still moving?”
“That’s why I told you to dress warmly.”
Maddie opened the door at the very end of the train.
The strong wind whipped her hair around. The sound of the train running on the tracks was so loud that it was hard to understand Maddie’s words.
Hoping he had misheard, Yulikian asked again.
“Get off now?!”
“Why that face? Haven’t you ever jumped off a train before?”
“Would I have?! Would I?!”
“You always shout when you’re flustered. I’m going first. If not now, we can’t jump.”
Just then, the train passing the fork in the road began to slow down. Maddie jumped off without hesitation.
Even after rolling several times, Maddie sprang up from the dust.
What a ridiculous…
Yulikian cursed several times inwardly before finally mustering the courage to step off the train.
At that moment, he was grateful for the multiple layers of dress he was wearing.
*** *** *** *** ***
According to Maddie, they had to cross the border.
Yulikian hid behind a rock, watching Maddie’s actions closely, and swallowed dryly.
“Maddie. That’s a protected area.”
“I know.”
“How much should I trust your word that Astrid is in a protected area where no one can enter?”
Maddie laughed as she disassembled and reassembled a few stolen firearms, modifying them.
“If you couldn’t trust me, you shouldn’t have married me.”
“Marriage… we had an agreement.”
“That’s right.”
Maddie aimed far with the sight and front sight of the rifle, then lowered it and turned her gaze to Yulikian.
“I extend your life safely, and you give me money. That was our contract. But you said everything is meaningless without your beloved niece. So we’re here to find that niece now.”
“…What I’m asking is if Astrid is really there. Why would a child we couldn’t find across the country be in a nature reserve on the border…”
“Because we couldn’t find her across the country, we have to cross the border. You can’t find that by asking around. We have to move ourselves. The Emperor must have hidden her on purpose.”
“…Astrid is only seven years old. Could she still be alive?”
“I don’t know. If we’ve come this far, we should at least find her bones and return.”
It was a cold response. Not wanting to talk to her anymore, Yulikian turned his head away.
As deep night fell, Maddie and Yulikian began to move, keeping their bodies as low as possible.
Maddie swiftly ambushed the soldiers standing guard.
They didn’t even have time to scream their last.
“Maddie. Aren’t you using the gun?”
“Later. If I use it now, people will gather.”
Maddie slung the rifle over her shoulder and walked ahead. Yulikian followed her footsteps, entering the deep forest together.
*** *** *** *** ***
Just before crossing the Durzel Mountains surrounding the border, the two were caught by soldiers.
The impact on the back of their heads caused them to lose consciousness. In their fading awareness, they heard the soldiers’ voices.
“What are these?”
“Unlucky to pass through here. Bad luck.”
“What are we going to do?”
“What do you mean, what? They came all the way here and saw us. We have to dump them there.”
A few hours later, Yulikian and Maddie were mixed with trash and corpses, passing through a long pipe, falling endlessly downwards.
As soon as Yulikian regained consciousness, he instinctively covered his nose.
The stench of rotting garbage was pervasive. It was so bad it stung his eyes.
Due to the high walls reaching the sky, it seemed that sunlight didn’t reach ‘this place’ well.
Yulikian groped around in the dim shadows and stood up. Every step he took felt unpleasantly squishy.
“…M-Maddie. Where are you?”
Yulikian awkwardly rubbed his limbs, which he couldn’t feel well, and walked over the trash.
Fortunately, despite falling from a high place, nothing was broken.
Luckily, Maddie was sitting on another pile of trash. From her posture, she seemed fine.
“Maddie… Are you okay? Please answer.”
Yulikian reached out to Maddie with concern.
Her gaze, which had been fixed on the ground, turned to the sky. Maddie raised her head and shouted at the top of her lungs.
“Damn it, to be dumped in this wretched place twice!”
Her loud voice echoed off the surrounding cliffs.
To be dumped in this wretched place twice~
Twice~
Dumped~
Twice~
Regretting his brief concern for her, Yulikian spoke to her irritably.
“Get up, Maddie. We don’t have time.”
“I know… Hah.”
“I’ll give you extra pay when we get back, so pull yourself together.”
“‘When we get back,’ you mean.”
“…We can go back. We must go back.”
“Yes, yes. Of course.”
Dusting off her bottom, Maddie stood up and slowly looked around the trash village.
It was truly a place she never wanted to return to.
“Hah… My life is cursed. Damn.”
Maddie sighed blankly, recalling her first meeting with him.
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